Kane relaxed as he looks to break scoring drought

PHILADELPHIA -- Patrick Kane hopes Wednesday night is the night he breaks out of his scoring slump. Kane hasn't scored a goal since Game 6 against Vancouver, so his drought has reached six games and counting.

If he, along with linemates Jonathan Toews and Dustin Byfuglien, who also have been uncharacteristically quiet in the Stanley Cup Final, are going to have a breakout Game 3 at Wachovia Center (8 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS), then Kane said they all better relax and let the game come to them.

Read on to understand exactly what he means by that.

Q: Do you have a sense that tonight will be the night for your line to get on the score sheet?

Kane:  "I hope so, yeah. I think we still have to play better and work harder to get the puck more. When we have the puck is when we're at our best and that's when we make the most plays. That's the biggest thing with us, getting it back. I know from talking to different people and coaches throughout the years, the coaches here and people that have input, the biggest thing is we're probably trying too hard to either control the series or to make plays or to score every shift. With our line, if we let the game come to us good things should happen."

Q: You've set the bar so high that a lot of people are asking, 'What's up with Kaner?' Is it just that -- you're trying too hard?

Kane:  "I think so, yeah. At this stage you want to do so well and you want to prove it to everyone that you can continue to be a big-game player and show up at the biggest time of the year. For me, personally, I don't know about Taser and Buff, if they would say the same thing, but I'm trying to do a little too much."

Q: Will the road help relax you?

Kane:  "Yeah, it should, it should. Sometimes at home you get the puck and the fans start cheering and you want to give them a show by doing different things. The road should help me to play a simpler game. Obviously as a team we have to contain the first 10 minutes and after that try to take over the game."

Q: On the positive side the hockey world is seeing that if Toews and Kane aren't on the score sheet this team can still win. Does that make you feel better?

Kane:  "That's awesome. That's the way it's been. There have been slumps like this throughout the year but it just doesn't get magnified like it does in the Stanley Cup Final. It's been happening all year, not just this time of the year. Everyone has been stepping up throughout the whole season and it's fun. It's gotta be exciting for the whole team."

Q: What do you expect in this building tonight?

Kane:  "Oh, it'll be crazy. From what I hear, (John Madden) told me it's safer on the ice than it is in the crowd. It's a crazy building. The fans will be into it. I think they are passionate hockey fans where they really follow the play and they've been fans here for a long time. I think it'll be fun atmosphere to play in. We've played in some cool ones in Vancouver and San Jose. We have been playing good on the road so we have to continue that."

Q: You expect a pretty good push from them early on?

Kane:  "Yeah, I'm sure they'll come out flying right away and we expect that. Like I said, we have to contain the first 10 minutes and after that move forward and try to control the game. You take the crowd out of it I think it's a big thing. I know from playing in the United Center that if the crowd is down it seems like a totally different arena to play in. Hopefully we can do that to them."

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl

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